Darwinsbitch Archive

On their new release for Thrill Jockey, Ancestral Star, they continue to explore the Morricone tinged Western soundtrack side of the genre—first pioneered by the heavyweights Earth—that they have done so thoroughly and competently on their previous albums. For this album, Caminiti and Porras took their time in the studio and expanded the instrumentation on the songs by experimenting with bowed guitar, and by inviting Marielle Jakobsons to play violin, the Norman Conquest to contribute eerie chanting vocals, and Portraits to add some nuanced percussion.

Marielle Jakobsons and Gregg Kowalsky are Date Palms. Of course we know Marielle from Darwinsbitch and as a member of myrmyr with Agnes Szelag. Now the blog “Raven Sings the Blues” has reviewed Date Palms release Of Psalms. Rachel Swan from the East Bay Express has a lot more to say about their new release as well but I suggest looking into these Oakland based artists and get that LP while you can! Highly recommended!

DARWINSBITCH
Fluid forms of drones, doomy laments, and folk melodies fleshed out from a backbone of sine oscillators and violin. Sound sources from the environment blend with instruments such as piano, ocean-harp, guitar, bass, and specially designed computer programs to create a unique sonic hybrid between the acoustic and the digital. Darwinsbitch is the solo project of Marielle Jakobsons, sound artist and violinist from Oakland, California. Her work stems from a fascination between human experiences which are at once “natural” and technologically-altered. Other projects include: myrmyr (electroacoustic duo with Agnes Szelag), triometrik (interactive multimedia ensemble), Date Palms, as well as many other violin/improv performances.

In its current incarnation, The Precambrian utilizes a “slide zither”, voice, & various pitch recognition algorithms to coax out microtonal intervals derived from a graphical system of 11-limit, just intonation matrices. In performance, Senna (armed with a handful of homemade piezoelectric transducers, microphones, & field recordings) executes a series of absurd one-act narratives & vocal onomatopoeia, indicative of both his sound design work for film & theater.

“ace016: darwinsbitch “Ore” CD $13 darwinsbitch is fluid forms of drones, doomy laments, and folk melodies fleshed out from a backbone of sine oscillators and violin. As the sky opens up and pellets of ice begin to fall, there is warmth trickling through the cracks in the walls. Darwinsbitch finally makes her incredible debut a reality. “Ore” is a slow-moving masterpiece, the kind of album that takes a few listens to truly crack, but once you find yourself swimming inside it’s molten core, you never, ever want to leave. Behind these droning squalls is the lone figure of Marielle Jakobsons. Armed with her tiny army of sonic weapons, she concocts a lavaflow of melodies only to then bury them underneath a flowing river of muck. They creep out, though, and sink their teeth in when you least expect it.

“Ore” is a silent killer. Layered in textures and sound, Jakobsons knows how to weave an immaculate sonic tapestry that is stunning and profound. Laced with an austere sensibility, her music is a lesson in organic experimentation. She laces these austere drones with an all-too-often unheard delicacy and richness. In the end, it’s simply beautiful music.

For the first time we are releasing the first ever Aphonia Recordings compilation. Originally only available on CD it now is available on the our website at less than $5!!! Artists on the compilation include Darwinsbitch, KRGA, Marriage + Cancer and special compilation only track by Aphonia Recordings co-founder Ben L. Robertson.

Hello everyone! Look I know it’s two weeks away but you know, it is probably a good idea to let everyone know about our next show – which we are sure to have a blast at – we hope you will join us! It is also nice as it will be the first time Ben and I will be performing as The Precambrian in a few months. So here is the press release type deal for your information:

Fluid forms of drones, doomy laments, and folk melodies fleshed out from a
backbone of sine oscillators and violin. Sound sources from the
environment blend with instruments such as piano, ocean-harp, guitar,
bass, and specially designed computer programs to create a unique sonic
hybrid between the acoustic and the digital. Darwinsbitch is the solo
project of Marielle Jakobsons, sound artist and violinist from Oakland,
California. Her work stems from a fascination between human experiences
which are at once “natural” and technologically-altered. Other projects
include: myrmyr (electroacoustic duo with Agnes Szelag), triometrik
(interactive multimedia ensemble), Date Palms, as well as many other
violin/improv performances.

DEREK M. JOHNSON

Derek is an Olympia native and can’t seem to ever get away. He
frequently performs solo acoustic/electric cello throughout the
Northwest with an ever changing, direct animation slide show. He’s
been a member of Bloodclot, Dead Air Fresheners,
Le Ton Mite, Frequency dB, and the unfortunately named Superfly 2000.
Collaborations include: Unwound, Thollem McDonnas, Jeremy Jay, Ben L
Robertson, Arrington de Dionyso, Bob Marsh, among others.

LA LUNGS

L.A. Lungs was formed in the summer on 2005 in a Tacoma studio apartment by
Afterthought Lung (nee Nathan Markiewicz) and Leeward Lungs (nee Lori
Peterson). L.A. Lungs continue to perform around the Pacific Northwest
and have been fortunate enough to share bills with artists such as
Acre, Bird Costumes, Wesley Borden, Cabinet of Natural Curiosities,
Crank Sturgeon, The Dead Air Fresheners, Steve Fisk, Forest Friends,
Gowns, Bill Horist, Josh Hydeman, Derek Johnson, Mattress, Myr Myr,
POWRFL POWER, Racooo-oo-oon, Scard, Shearing Pinx, Talbot Tagora, Your
Drugs My Money, and many more. We can look forward to hearing work
from LA Lungs recent Aphonia Rec. & Debacle releases (“Most of the
Time We Do Not Realize We are Shedding Our Skins”) at this month’s
showcase.

THE PRECAMBRIAN

Aphonia Recordings founders, Ben L. Robertson & Andrew Senna team-up as The
Precambrian. In concept, The Precambrian is a constantly evolving
interactive synthesis environment/instrument, engineered by Robertson
using the graphical programming language, Max/MSP.
In its current incarnation, The Precambrian utilizes a “slide zither”, voice, &
various pitch recognition algorithms to coax out microtonal intervals
derived from a graphical system of 11-limit, just intonation matrices.
In performance, Senna (armed with a handful of homemade piezoelectric
transducers, microphones, & field recordings) executes a series of
absurd one-act narratives & vocal onomatopoeia, indicative of both
his sound design work for film & theater.

Ben and I do a lot of legwork to keep the pulse of this label strong online and elsewhere. Press doesn’t hurt and it doesn’t necessarily come easily. Lately, we have definitely been lucky with coverage locally as well as nationally. The Stranger recently covered our last show, The Phantom of the Opera at the Gallery 1412 and we have been looking into our distribution options for that – we are looking to do a January release.

We have also been fortunate enough to catch the eye of local blogger writing for Illusory Confections and now Mr. Brad Bird of online mag Foxy Digitalis has an exclusive interview with Ben and I which you can find here. I also might add that our local friends and Aphonia Recordings alums L.A. Lungs are featured on Foxy Digitalis as well. I highly recommend going to Foxy Digitalis to check out this interview as well. And don’t forget darwinsbitch also has a limited run (only 100!) cassette up now that you can purchase there. Whew! Hooray for Foxy Digitalis.

In other news, Ben and I will be transferring our AphoniaRecordings.com domain to a new web host – so there will be outages this coming week. Hopefully by Xmas all will up again and everyone can marvel at our new speed and slickness. Actually the site wont look at all different, it will just hopefully work better. There will be some cosmetic changes on the way, which to most of you will be transparent. I will post another outage reminder probably tomorrow as that is when the process is most likely to begin.

While it gets strangely cold here in Seattle and the snow continues to stick to the ground, I wish all of you the best of times as the shortest day of the year inevitably approaches.

I would like all our readers to check out Darwinsbitch latest release Steel Hum. Marielle V. Jakobson continues her handmade art/sound releases with this very short run (99 copies – well now maybe 98 since I bought one) – cassette tape release. Here are a few words from the Digitalis Industries website:

“finally, the bitch is here. marielle v. jakobsons is the brilliant mind behind the elusive darwinsbitch. her music is rich in texture and portrays an aural depth that you can’t quite pierce. “steel hum” is an introduction, an effort to bring you into the fold in anticipation of her spellbinding debut full-length, “ore.” but what “steel hum” has is an organic sense of place and a path forward.

jakobsons employs numerous methods with a focus on synths, tapes, and violin. what she creates is a slightly-uneasy soundworld, constantly teetering on the edge of collapse. these sides are like a rocking ship drifting back & forth in deep grey seas. you’re not sure if you should just enjoy the view or vomit your dinner over the side. “steel hum” is caught in the space between. limited to 99 copies w/ custom stamped art.”

Support this artist with a singularly original and beautiful vision for music and art. Buy Now

For 14 years, the Olympia Experimental Music Festival has been an amazing asset to the NW experimental music community. This year, Aphonia Recordings will be hosting a benefit show to raise money for this year’s festival (…travel expenses for artists, promotion, venue rental etc.. This stuff isn’t free!). In addition to performances, we will also be holding a raffle & silent auction for awesome prizes donated by NW artists & musicians, including: CD’s, LP’s, reel-to-reels, random audio gear, & one squirrel costume (donated by Red Squirrels).

Please show up the benefit, donate generously, buy raffle tickets, bid on a rad prize or two, & support the festival……It will make you a better person!

A number of Aphonia Recordings folks will be performing at the actual festival in Olympia (ie. Paintings for Animals, Darwinsbitch, & a collaboration between Ben L. Robertson + Gabe Will (violist – Problems)).www.myspace.com/olystrangemusic

Join us in enjoying this excerpted video from the Aphonia Recordings mini-tour that occurred last November. Recently Darwinsbitch performance during this mini-tour was featured as a podcast here. Now an excerpt is available as video!